Advent Week #2 . . . Stumps + Roots + Shoots

Walking in the Truth during Advent

Today's Truth from Scripture

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord--and He will delight in the fear of the Lord . . . In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him and His place of rest will be glorious."  Isaiah 11:1-2a, 10

Today's devotional thoughts

Here's a definition from dictionary.com:  "'Advent' 1. A coming into place, view, or being; arrival. 2. 'The coming of Christ into the world' (usually capitalized.) Disclaimer #1:  This will NOT be a partisan devotional, even though . . . Disclaimer #2: I will, however, once again reference the results of our presidential election on Nov. 8 . . .

. . . Because by now you know that we have a new President. Disclaimer #3:  No matter what the result would have been, we were going to end up with a new President. [Even I had figured that out.] Disclaimer #4:  As predicted, many rejoiced at the result. Disclaimer #5:  Also, as predicted, many despaired at the result.

What about you?

You could argue that we are facing an "advent" in our country, but even if that's true, it pales in comparison to the Advent of our Lord Jesus, prophesied by Isaiah many hundreds of years before Jesus the Messiah's birth.

Jesus was to be:

• "a shoot . . . from the stump of Jesse" . . . 
• "a Branch" that would "bear fruit."
• Ultimately on the Last Day He will "stand as a banner for the peoples--"

That includes you, me & all believers!

"And His place of rest will be glorious."

I think that on that day we will know what TRUE rejoicing is all about.

A Prayer for Advent *

(St. 1)  O come, O come, Emmanuel **, And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel ** Shall come to thee, O Israel!

(St. 4)  O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's tree, Free them from Satan's tyranny
That trust Thy mighty pow'r to save, And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel ** Shall come to thee, O Israel!

(St. 7)  O come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel ** Shall come to thee, O Israel!

* SOURCE:  "O Come,O Come, Emmanuel **," Lutheran Service Book, #357.
** "Emmanuel" {'Immanuel'} means "God with us."

One more disclaimer:  This is a devotional that I adapted from one that I wrote for The Headliner, a weekly e-newsletter, published by Orphan Grain Train.

Missionary News *

* Some major revisions have been made since the original post.

Pastor Stuart & Debra Freese are the two missionaries that Lois & I have adopted. They are preparing to serve in West Africa; it looks like they are on track to begin their mission & ministry over there soon after the 1st of the year. They are spending their time now getting ready for this assignment, which includes traveling to spread the word about the mission work in Africa & raising support with the help of Gary Thies. Some of you know Gary from his work via Mission Central. [http://missioncentral.us/missioncentral/welcome] I have Stu & Deb's permission to share the following information with you.

"Change of plans--serving in Burkina Faso, West Africa. God has changed our plans. We will no longer be serving in Ghana, West Africa, but in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Through prayer & careful consideration it has been determined that God is leading us to this mission calling . . . God will continue to bless the work in Ghana through the capable hands of the missionaries & national pastors living there.
Specific prayer requests:  That we are able to learn the French & Moore' languages . . . For our transition from the Ghana mission call to the Burkina Faso mission call . . . For the mission work in West Africa . . . For the people of Burkina Faso so they are willing to hear & share God's Word . . . That God would provide men who want to be trained as leaders in Burkina Faso.

• Email: debra.freese@lcmsintl.org
• Email:  stuart.freese@lcmsintl.org
• Facebook:  www.facebook.com/FreesesinAfrica/ (NOTE:  You don't need a Facebook account to view this page.)
• Website:  http://debrafreese.wix.com/freesesinafrica
• Giving Page:  http://www.lcms.org/freese